Rants & Reviews

18 January 2016

The Big Short: Film Review

Congratulations to Hollywood’s latest employment initiative for white men: The Big Short. Just this one film manages to give work to many scores of white men. How gratifying to see the film industry creating a safe space for white male actors.

Oh the buyer’s remorse. I knew better than to waste my time on this film, but I was swayed by the powerful recommendations of, um, some other white men. Yeah, sure, it’s good to have a film that shows in its own confused and dizzying cut-away style how a bunch of market dealers, bank execs, and investment experts, supported by corrupt government bodies, brought down the world economy.

But we knew that already. Who isn’t aware that a cabal of these jokers ripped us all off, got “punished” with bigger bonuses and bailed out debts, ruining countless lives among the 99% along the way? We know that they’re still in control, as well. We know that the ones with a tiny tinge of belated conscience, like the character played by Steve Carell, went ahead and bled the crisis of a billion dollars here and there nonetheless. Others, like Brad Pitt’s laid-back character, screwed with our lives as a favor (or maybe, egotistical show of power) to some younger, ambitious little admirers.

Lacking an analysis of masculinity and of capitalism, this film is perfect Oscar bait: nothing threatening to the status quo; a world only lightly peppered with women and people of color (No, one black woman character with some power does not cover the bases, boys); and no suggestion of how to change things.

Not that women were entirely absent: the first two who appeared were strippers; the third was a blond in a bubble bath drinking champagne. And Marisa Tomei was the nurturing little wife.